The City of St. Augustine Beach Public Works Facility now accepts used motor oil for St. Augustine Beach residents. Residents may drop off up to 5 gallons of their used motor oil in a sealed container to the Public Works Department at 2055 Mizell Road. Proof of residency may be required. If you do not reside in the City, check with an auto parts store near you to find a location for safe and free disposal.
Here's what you need to know
- Motor oil must be 'clean' (not contaminated with other products). This includes paint. Contaminated motor oil cannot be accepted, although you should call to find a location that will safely dispose of your contaminated oil in the event that you have accidentally mixed products.
- Motor oil must be in a sturdy sealed container, and must not exceed 5 gallons. (A Ziploc is not a sturdy container for this purpose)
- Oil filters are accepted. However, they must be in a sealed Ziploc bag, stored seperate from the used motor oil.
- Motor oil is accepted at the Public Works Department Monday - Friday from 10am - 2pm, by appointment only. You must make an appointment to bring your oil in, please call (904)471-1119. This is for your benefit, to ensure that employees are on-site to unload the oil and assist you.
Information about used motor oil
- The damage used oil causes comes from mismanagement.
- Re-refining used oil takes only about one-third the energy of refining crude oil to lubricant quality.
- If all used oil improperly disposed of were recycled, it could produce enough energy to power 360,000 homes each year, or could provide 96 million quarts of high quality motor oil.
- One gallon of used oil used as fuel contains about 140,000 BTU of energy.
- One gallon of used oil from a single oil change can ruin a million gallons of fresh water - a year's supply for 50 people.
- Concentrations of 50 to 100 parts per million (ppm) of used oil can foul sewage treatment processes.
- Films of oil on the surface of water prevent the replenishment of dissolved oxygen, impair photosynthetic processes, and block sunlight.
- Oil dumped onto land reduces soil productivity
- Toxic effects of used on freshwater and marine organisms vary, but significant long-term effects have been found at concentrations of 310 ppm in several freshwater fish species, and as low as 1 ppm in marine life forms.